Sam Gutowitz was the founder of a small record store in New York City in the late 1940s. Sam “Goody” Gutowitz became known for selling discounted records through mail-order sales. When the store became a chain in 1951 the name was changed to Sam Goody. In 1978 the company was acquired by Musicland and continued to grow. The company ultimately specialized in music, video, and video games sales. A commercial for Sam Goody from 1999 uses animation and teen rebellion to market to youth audiences. Sam Goody opened stores in the United Kingdom in the 1990s but left at the start of the 2000s as the business format was not successful as it had been in the United States. The Sam Goody franchise was purchased by Trans World Entertainment in March of 2006 and all Sam Goody stores were eventually changed to f.y.e.